USC Trojans Leaders Provide Rare Insight Into Current Locker Room

A year ago, there was a massive shift in the culture at USC. Player accountability was on the rise. The hiring of general manager Chad Bowden in January of last year and strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll in the May of last year were instrumental in the change.

Former tight end Lake McRee said last season was the closest team he had been a part of in his five years at Southern Cal. Former linebacker Eric Gentry echoed a similar sentiment in his fifth and final season. Junior defensive back Kameryn Crawford revealed following their upset win over then-No. 15 Michigan in early October that the players had been making each other run sprints and do up downs for messing up assignments.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Chad Bowden Fall Camp Summer Workouts Braylan Shelby Trumain Carroll Freshman Class — Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Utah Utes in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The players have a close bond off the field and instead having animosity or pushing back for being called out by teammate, they took it as challenge and understood it’s coming from a place of accountability from within. USC has built upon that heading into the 2026 season.

“It’s as close of a locker room as I’ve ever seen,” said sixth-year senior quarterback Sam Huard.

The Trojans are beginning to wrap up summer workouts under Carroll with fall camp starting next week. They took “Competition Wednesday” to Hermosa Beach on Wednesday morning, where they ran drills and played dodgeball in front of the USC fan base.

“You think they can get even better from last year and they did,” said senior defensive end Braylan Shelby. “The amount of work that we put in this year from Coach Tru and the whole staff was amazing. The lifting, the running, and bringing the connection together between the whole team was really amazing. You can see that right now, especially at the beach too because all of us competing and thriving, just having a great time together.”

The season is fast approaching. The Trojans are set to open the season against San Jose State on Aug. 29 and there’s an overwhelming sense of confidence about what lies ahead.

“I just think how much they've pushed the leadership from within and how many guys on the team have stepped up this summer and the way we've worked and grown as a team, we're excited and right where we need to be,” Huard said.

Incorporating Freshman into Team

USC signed an impressive haul of recruits in the 2026 class. A total of 34 signees that became the first non-SEC school in nearly two decades to finish as the No. 1 class.

The Trojans went to work immediately upon the arrival of Bowden, and the commits came flooding in before official visit season last summer. Bowden had implemented a new recruiting rule, once a player commits, they could no longer visit other schools.

Commits in the 2026 class visited campus regularly in the spring, in the summer to workout on campus with the coaches and continue getting acclimated into the program. That carried into the fall, where they took the opportunity to build a bond with each other and the current players on gamedays.

By the time, the 2026 class stepped onto campus in January, nothing was unfamiliar. They had been part of the program long before making it official on National Signing Day. Everything has been done with a purpose to make sure the freshman class could hit the ground running.

Receiver Boobie Feaster was one of two of freshmen that did not arrive until late May. However, Feaster, a Texas native, made three separate trips out to USC in the spring and attended a total of four practices. He would go through meetings and get treatment from the training staff. Everything except take part in the actual practice.

Pivotal Season for USC

It's year five of the Lincoln Riley era and the pressure in Los Angeles is mounting for the program to reach its first-ever College Football Playoff.

Southern Cal is set to face its toughest schedule since joining the Big Ten three years ago. However, a tough schedule can't be an excuse for the program to take a step back after nine-win season a year ago and everyone inside the building knows it. Results have to be seen this fall.

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